The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-08-18
dortaker, and the tombstone cutter have bee,


and let the mother take child in each hani
and trudge out into the desert Of tho world,
a life Insurance would have hindered all
that
But, says some one, " am man OF small
means, and ] can't afford to pay tho premi-
um," That is sometimes lawful and gcnu-
Inc excuse, and there Is no answer to IL; but
in nine cases out of ten when n man says that
he smokes up In cigars, and drinks down in
wine, and expends IN luxuries enough money
to have paid the premium on life insurance
policy which would have kept his family from
bcggary when no is dead A man ought to
put himself down on tho strictast economy
until he can meet this Christian necessity.
You have no right to tho Injuries of life un-
til You have made such provision admire
what was said by Rev. Dir Guthrie, the great
Scottish preacher A few years before his
death he stood in n public meeting and de-
clared: when came TO Edinburgh the peo
Pile sometimes laughed at my black stockings
and at my cotton umbrella, and they said |
looked Ikea common plowman, and they de-
rided me because lived in house for which
l paid f25 year rent, and oftentimes |
walked when would have been very glad to
have cab; but, gentlemen, did all that be-
cause wanted to pay the premium ON a life
insurance that would keep my family com.
Portable II should die" That take to be
the right expression Of an honest, intelli.
gent, Christian man
The utter indifference of many people on
this important subject accounts for much Of
the crime and the pauperism of the day.
Who are these children sweeping the cross
ings with broken broom and begging of you
penny as you go byi Who are these los.
souls gliding under the gaslight, in thin
shawlss All, they are the victims of want;
in many of the eases the forecast of parents
and grandparents might have prohibited it.
God only knows how they struggled to do
right. They prayed until the tears froze on
their cheeks, they sewed on the sack until the
breaking of the day; but they could not get
could not get enough money to de-
Gently cothe themselves; and one day
in that wretched home the angel OF
purity and the angel Of crime fought
u great fight between the empty bread tray
and the fireless hearth, and the blackwinged
angel shrieked "Ahal ] have won the day."
Says some man believe what you say;
it is right and Christian, and mean some
time to attend TO this matter" My friend,
you are going to lose the comfort of your
household in the same way the sinner loses
heaven, by procrastnaton. | see all
around me the destitute and suffering families
OF parents who meant some day to attend
to this Christian duty. During the process
of adjournment the man gets his feet wei,
then comes a chill aud delirium and the
doeful shake of the doctors head, and the OBJ
sequies. If there be anything more pitiable
than woman delicately brought up, and on
her marriage day by an indulgent father
given to man to whom she is the chief Joy
and pride of life until the moment of his death,
and then that same woman going out with
helpless children at her back to struggle for
bread in world where brawny muscle and
rugged soul are necessary-l say, if there be
o,,xrfl, nit tl,,k n
know what it is And yet there are good
women who are Indifferent in regard to their
husbands duty in this respect: and there are
those positively hostile, as though life
insurance subjected man to some
fatality. There is in Brooklyn to-day a
very poor woman keeping candy shop,
who vehemently opposed the insurance
of her husbands life, and when application
had been made for o policy of $4,000 she
frustrated it. She would never have doc.
ument in the house that implied it was pos
sible fol. her husband ever to die One day, in
quick revolution of machinery his life was
instantly dashed out. What is the sequel!
She is, with annoying tug, making the half
of a miserable living. Her two children have
been taken away from her in order that they
may he clothed and schooled, and her life is
to be prolonged hardship. o man, before
forty eight hours have passed away, appear
81
surance companies, have the stethoscope Of
the physician put to your heart md lungs,
and by the seal of some honest company de-
cree that your children shall not be subjected
to the humiliation of financial struggle in the
day OF your demise.
But must ask the men engaged in life in
surance business whether they feel the I'M
portance Of their trust, and charge them I
must that they need divine. grace to help
them in their work. In this day, when there
are SO many rivalries in your line of bust
ness, you will b. tempted to oyerstate the
amount of assets and the extent OF the
surplus, and you will be tempted to
abuse the franchise of the company,
and make up the deficits of one year by
adding some of the receipts of another year;
and you will be tempted to send out mean,
anonymous circulars derogatory to othe,
companies, forgetful of the fact that anony-
nous communication means only two things
the cowardice OF the author and the ineili-
cheney OF the police in allowing such thing
to be dated anywhere save inside OF peni-
tertiary. Under the mighty pressure many
have gone down, and you s.ill follow them if
you have too much confidence in yourself,
and do not appeal to the Lord for positive
help. But if any of you belong to that mis-
creant class of people who, without any finan-
cial ability, organize themselves into what
they call a life insurance company, with a
pretended capital of 100000 or 5000,
then vote yourself into the lucrative position,
and then take oil the premiums for
yourself, and then, at the approach
OF the State Superintendent, drop all into the
hands of those life insurance undertakes
whose business it is to gather up the remains
of defunct organizations and bury them an
their own fault--then. | say, you had better
get out of the business, and disgorge the
widows houses you have swallowed. But my
word is to all those who are legitimately en-
gagged in the business You ought to be bet
ter than other men, not only because of the
responsibilities that rest upon you, but be-
cause the truth is ever confronting you that
your stay on earth is uncertain, and your life
matter OF a few days or years. Do not those
black edged letters that come into your office
make you think. Does not the doctors GER
tificate Oh the death claim give you thrill
Your periodicals, your advertisements
and even the TYPOGRAPHY of your policies
warn you that You are mortal According
70 your own showing the chances that you
will die this year are at least2 per cent. Are
you prepared for the tremendous exigencyi
The most condemned man in the Judgment
day will be the unprepared life insurance
| man, for the simple reason that his whole
| business was connected with human exit, and
he cannot say; 81 did not think" His Who'll,
| DuoliicoS WAS W Jlllllh Oh UlldL or
thing. o, my brother, get insured for et-r
| nifty. In consideration of what Christ ha.
done in your behalf, have the indenture thi
day made out, signed and sealed with the rec
veal of the cross
But l have words OF encouragement ant
comfort for those Of my hearers who are Ell
| gagged in the fire insurance business Yoi
| are ordained by God to stand between us am
the most raging element OF nature. We ar
indebted to you for what the national boar
of underwriters and the convention of chief
of the fire department have effected through
your suggestions and through your eucour
agement. We are indebted to you for VIVA
you have effected in the construction 0
buildings and in the change in the habits o
our cities: so that by scientific principle
orderly companies extinguish the fire, instea'
OF the old time riots which used to extinguis
the citizens. And we are indebted to you TO
the successful demands you have made 70
the repeal of unjust laws-for the battle yo
have waged against incendiarism and arse
for the fatal blow you have given to tn
theory that corporations have no souls, b
the cheerfulness and promptitude with whic
you have met losses from which YOU Nigh
have escaped through technicality of tn
law. do not know any class of men in on
midst more high toned and worthy of cont
dence than these men, and yet l have SOM
times feared that while your chief buSne:
is TO calculate about losses on earthl
property, you might without suificier
thought go inc that which, in regard
/ aria NllrF